Healthy Eating for Kids
I believe that food is fuel, and I worry that Matt and I aren't optimizing our children's health through the food we offer them on a daily basis, specifically around breakfast. Matt handles the breakfast routine for us every.single.day (thank you, Matty!), and he usually defaults to peanut butter and jelly. I guess I wouldn't feel so bad about peanut butter and jelly if we made sure the ingredients were all healthy. As it is, Matt is picking up these items separately (from Target) instead of including them in our weekly Whole Foods trip. I realize that's what I'm struggling with. If we made sure the bread didn't have any nasty stuff in it and we used natural peanut butter and jelly, I'd feel better. I think the problem on the natural peanut butter front is that we need one of these so we can keep it mixed. That's why Matt reverts to unhealthy peanut butters. Maybe we could even get the boys to switch over to banana instead of jelly? I'm not sure how that would go at this point...
I also think I should start making green smoothie popsicles for the boys. I would love for them to get a daily dose of calcium (from plain yogurt) along with the vitamins and minerals from spinach and mango. I'm going to try these silicon push pop things to see if I like them.
I also think it would be good to make some of these egg sandwiches in advance and store them in a freezer. This jumbo muffin tin will help. Henry loves egg sandwiches!
I'd feel better if they took a multivitamin on a daily basis, too. I just did some quick research and landed on this one. The boys are going to love having four pieces of "candy" a day.
One final thing: I want them to eat more veggies at dinner. I really need to add more meals to my repertoire. I'm getting so bored with what we have day in and day out. I'm going to work on gathering more ideas right now!
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11 comments:
I grew up eating natural peanut butter (and hating it!) and you don't need a special stirrer. Just use a spoon! And I think peanut butter and apple sandwiches are another great combo.
Good luck!
If you leave the natural peanut butter upside down for a few days prior to stirring, it's crazy easy. I can't believe I struggled the other way for so long!
An egg cooker (we got the Home Image brand from Amazon--metal lid) has been a life saver for our family! We always have perfectly hardboiled eggs in the fridge. Makes a great to-go snack, and a wonderful way to supplement breakfasts for my 5 year old. As a runner, I love having the easily accessible protein. Would highly recommend!
Why don't you just add the pbj ingredients to your Whole Foods shopping list? Or ask Matt to buy the healthier/natural versions at Target? For natural pbj I find that if you use the fresh-grind machine at Whole Foods it separates less. When I do but it in a jar, I usually just pour off some of the oil and then it's less messy to stir.
So many helpful comments, Everyone!
Britt, it's really that easy?
Alycia: Love the apple idea!
mamarunsmiles: I had no idea an egg cooker was a thing! It looks like such a convenient way to cooked hard-boiled eggs. I've been trying to reduce my number of appliances, but this looks really helpful!
veg girl: Writing this post made me realize exactly what you're suggesting! Thanks!
Start kids on avocado early since fat intake is particularly important in the early years. In fact, ripe avocado is a perfect baby food spooned straight out of its peel.
~Dana@CodeSpark
You can definitely get natural (and organic) peanut butter from Target. We usually buy ours at Trader Joe's plus fruit spread (made with fruit juice instead of sugar) instead of jelly.
Regarding stirring, I find that as long as I stir it really good when I first open it (usually using a butter knife) and then put it in the fridge, it does not separate.
Ok, I'll add the comment necessary to say that the task is matt's and you thanked him for it. Shouldn't you just let that be one thing you don't think about? You guys share a common goal in general healthy eating and he has made the breakfast choice. You're all set.
Maranatha makes delicious organic peanut butter that is "no stir"! It's my favorite. We buy it in bulk when it's on sale. :)
The peanut butter is a pain to stir when you open it, but honestly does not separate all that much after one thorough mixing. If you are using it daily, just do a quick little stir with a knife when you already have it open, and it should be fine. If the boys have trouble with the flavour, add progressively tinier dabs of honey until they get used to the natural peanut flavour (although if there is jelly on there too that is likely enough sweetness for them).
If you're okay with a little extra oil or sugar, I recall a couple varieties of the Whole Foods brand that are no sir. I think one has just 3 or 4 ingredients: Palm oil, peanuts, salt, and maybe something else. And another possibly honey-sweetened variety. My dh hates stirring PB, so this was our compromise instead of my preference for the peanuts-only variety.
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